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Ruud Boetekees, Sr. Traffic Policy Advisor at the Municipality of Haarlem, talks about his experiences with the Signum.
The Dutch Bicycle Action Plan 2020-2022 of the municipality of Haarlem describes plans to be and remain easily accessible for residents and visitors, especially as the number of inhabitants of the municipality continues to grow. A transition of mobility is necessary in this regard. Haarlem opts for clean and sustainable mobility and gives priority to cyclists and pedestrians. Improving the bicycle network starts with taking stock of the network and usage.
Why did you choose the Signum?
“I came across an article on LinkedIn, I responded to that and that’s how we got in touch. After this conversa
tion, we reviewed what Haarlem’s needs are and what the possibilities are with the system (the Signum). We have been familiar with counting cars for years, but when counting cyclists it turned out to be a lot more difficult to get a reliable picture of the numbers. Especially with groups of cyclists and along a road where cars also drive, this is often difficult to count.”
What are your initial experiences?
“The first experiences are good. However, we are still in the Corona period which also disrupts the counting of cyclists at the chosen location. The schools are still closed for example, so we still cannot count all bicycles. The chosen location is a trial location. We had done a count here ourselves several years back, but we found it implausible. The current count, even at Corona time, does come across as realistic.”
Are you satisfied with the use of the Signum?
“We are satisfied with its use. Results are coming out that are plausible. We first spent half an hour counting ourselves, by hand, to check the counter. What the counter counted was very close to our hand count.”
What are you going to use the data for?
“We’re going to use the data to determine bicycle ridership at the next intersection along this road where Europa Road is going to have a redesign. The data of the numbers of cyclists from the direction of Boerhaavelaan that we had was so low that it was not credible.
Moreover, this test location may perhaps serve to conduct more frequent bicycle counts in Haarlem in the future.”
Do you find the display of the data in My Cycle Traffic user-friendly enough?
“The display is fine to use. It is nice that there are various methods of analysis within the database.”
In your experience, what are the advantages and disadvantages of the Signum compared to other measuring devices?
“The advantage is that, through a combination of technology, a reliable count of cyclists comes out.”
Would you recommend the Signum to colleagues?
“As a municipality, you always have to weigh up what you want to measure, with what result and what you want to use the data for. You have to find the right piece of equipment for that, and that comes at a price. Multisensors delivers a good product at a market-based price.”
